As Americans grow older, the growth of jobs in the healthcare industry, particularly those catering to seniors, is set to expand greatly. Senior caregiving is expanding the most in major cities throughout the U.S., especially in Southern and Western cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles.
According to Caregiverlist.com’s Senior Care Employment Index, senior care agencies have seen a 40 percent growth since 2008. There are now almost 11,000 agencies operating in the U.S., and 1,000 were opened last year alone.
The same site claims that senior caregivers earn 38 percent more than the national minimum wage. These positions include companion caregiver, certified caregiver, certified home health aide, and certified nursing aide.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over the next two decades the number of seniors will almost double, to 70 million people. By then, one in five people will be seniors.
“Caregiving will continue to evolve as our lifespans continue to increase. Now that younger generations have better knowledge to assist in living well—and laws have even been passed to make sure we do certain things to protect our health—we aren’t allowed to smoke in office buildings anymore, to name just one, this means a new reality of living to be 110 years old or longer,” says Caregiverlist.com CEO Julie Northcutt. “Who will provide for the care for these additional years of living and how will we pay for it? These are the questions we will have to tackle.”
